Device for holding uppers in lasted position



Sept. 30, 1930.

H D WEBB fixivzci: FOR HOLDING UPPERS IN LASTED POSITION FiIed June 4. 1929 /NVENTUR W @4 @WW 1;

Patented Sept. 30, 1930 U TED STATES FATE NT; OFFICE HORACE 13. wires, or'nocnns'rnn, new roux, ASSIGNOR TO UNITED snonMAoHinnnY conronArron;onramnnson, new JERSEY, A conronnrron or new JERSEY, f

toe portions of the uppers in lasted position.

nnvron non notnrnenrrnns in L-As'rnn rosrrron Application filed June 4, 1929. Serial No. 368,239.

This invention relates to devicesfor use in the manufacture of shoes for holdmg; the

The invention is herein illustrated by reference to the lasting of shoes on type in which the uppers are made of felt, although it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in utility tothe manufacture of shoes made of that particular material. or of shoes of the particular type illustrated.

In the manufacture of felt shoes of a wellknown type it is the practice to provlde an upper of such extent as to overlapthe bottom of the last in place of aninsole, andbefore the upperis mounted on the last to stitch its opposite side edges together. The upper is then dampened and a last is inserted, the

upper being thereby stretched and conformed to the contour ofthe last. At'the toe end of the upper, however, it is the usual practice to omit the stitching and thus to leave'an opening with the margin of the upper free until after the last has been inserted, and thereafter to shape the'toe portion of the upper over the last by atoe-lasting operation. In thisoperation, which is conveniently per formed by the aid of toe-embracing wipers of alastingmachine, the margin of the toe portion of the upper is gathered inupstandingfolds. bunched together in a. substantially central location over vthe bottom of the toe endof the last. To hold the toe portion of the upper in lasted position until it has dried and set inlasted shape, it has beenthe practice to drivevtacks adjacent to thevgathered folds, the tacks being thereafter'removed and the surplus margin of the upper at thetoe trimmedo'li ,preparatoryto the.

stitching of an outsole on the bottom ofthe shoe. l y

In view of the nature of the feltmaterial,

I especially its resilient character, it is difiicult by theuse of tackspas above desc-ri-berh'to hold the gathered folds at the margin of: the toe end of the upper in such manner as to insure that the upper will lie substantially fiat over the margin of thelastbottomaround a the toe until it has dried. The use,moreov'er,

of lasting tacks,-driven necessarily within a comparatively small portion ofthe area of pose in view the invention provides a novel device constructed to serve as a binder around the gathered margin of theupper. The device herein shown comprises a member curved to extend partially around the gathered margin at the end and sides of thetoe, and another member pivoted on the curved member for 7 forward swinging movement into position,

to complete the inclosure of the marginof the upper, the arrangement being such that the pivotedmember serves byuits movement to press the gathered folds of the upper. for Wardly toward the curved member so that they are held tightly between the two roombers; and thereis also provided means for Y retaining the plvoted member" in operative position. The device thus serves as a clasp for inclosing and holding thegatl'ieredman gin of the upper. As further illustrated, the curved member is so formed as to adapt it to be pressed into opera-tiveposition by the wipers of a toe-lasting machine and to be held thereby while the pivoted member is;

swung into operative position as above described. p r

The novel features of the invention will now be moreparticularly described by reference to theqaccompanying drawings and thereafter pointed out in theclaims. J "In the drawings, i r I w p Fig.1 isqa? perspective view illustrating how the novel upper-holding device is applied to a shoe wipers; 1 a l a i FigQQ shows the device as'it appears in upper-holding position on'the shoe; and Fig; 3 is a viewofthe device detached;

"In themanufacture of afelt shoe of the illustrated type the felt upper a is out large enough so that its opposite side portions,

securedtogether by a row of stitches b, will. extend across the bottom or the last in place by a the aid of toe-lastingof, an insole. 1 The opposite, side edges ofthe upper arethus stitched together while the upper is off the last, after which the upper is moistened and the last is inserted to stretch and shape it in the required shoe contour. It is customary to terminate the row of stitches b at such 'a point that an opening is left at the toe portion of the upper, and after the insertion of the last this portion. of the upper is shaped to the contour of the toe end of thelast by a toe-lasting operation. In thisoperationit is customary to use the toe-embracing wipers 10 of a toe-lasting machine to wipe the upper inwardly overthe margin of the last bottom at the end and the sides of the toe and to .gather the surplus margin of the upper in a plurality of more or lcssupstanding folds c bunched together ina substantially central location over the bottom of the toe end of the last. The last mg machine is not shown in detail, but it will be understood that it comprises means where;

by the wipers are moved lengthwise of the shoe and are closed to wipe the upper over the last bottom-and to gather its margin in a bunch of folds and also means whereby the wipers may be moved height-wise of the shoe to increase their pressure on the upper. During the :wiping operation the operator may pull the upper more or less by engaging its margin with hand pincers.

After the toe portion of the upper has been'worked into lasted position as abovedescribed, it is necessary to hold it until ithas set. F or this purpose the present invention provides a novel deviceadapted'to be applied around the gathered margin of the upper as a hinder or clasp. Thedevice herein shown comprises a substantially U-shaped member 12 curved to extend partially around the gathered margin of the upper at the end and sides of the toe, and another member or arm 14 pivoted at 16 on the member 12 for movement into position-to extend laterally of the shoeat the rear of the gathered margin to complete the inclosure of said margin. It

i v will be seen that the arm 14 is pivoted'on one end of the member 12' for forward swinging movement:toward the bunch of folds .0 and toward'the end of the toe in a plane substantially parallel to the last bottom, approach- 1 ing in that movement the other end of the.

member 12 which .it finally overlaps. The arm 141s thus arranged to engage therearmost folds-0 and press them forwardly to.' ward the member 12 in order that: the folds, will be tightly clasped andheld, and for more effective results in this respectit is pro vided withfia projection 18 for engagement with the folds..- To hold the arm 14 in operativeposition there is provided acatch' 20 comprising a bent-up portion of the member 12'over which the end ofthe arm rides asit is moved into operative position. The member12, as herein shown, is formed of resilient I sheet. metal with one of. its lateral. surfaces.

a-rrangedvto face the bottomof th-elast, and

the resiliency of the member facilitates movement of the arm 14 over the catch 20, as above described, and also facilitates release of the arm from the catch in removing the device from the shoe. The arm 14 is likewise formed of sheet metaland has an upturned lug 22 thereon to assist in applying the device to the shoe and in removing it. The device is preferably applied to the shoe by the aid of the wiperslO, and to this end the member 12 has thereon an upstanding lug 24 which arovides a shoulder arranged to be engaged by the edges of the wipers to press the member rearwardly against the gathered margin of the upper. v

In the useof the device above described, the operator, after wiping the toe portion of the upper inwardly over the last bottom and gathering its margin in acentrally located bunch of folds c by aid of the wipers 10, partially retracts and lifts thewipers and places the device on the shoe bottom with the men1- ber 12 adjacent to the folds at the end and sides ofthe toe and projecting partially under the wiping faces of the wipers, the arm 14 being swung to open position, and then by means of the wipers he presses the member 12 rearwardly and also downwardly upon the shoe bottom, as illustrated in Fig. 1. Then, while holding the member 12 pressed against the upper by the'wipers, he swings the arm 14 forwardly into position to be held by the catch 20, the projection 18 on the arm engaging the rearmost folds 0 and pressing them forwardly toward the member 12. The shoe is then removed from the lasting machine with the mapenholdiug' device thereon in the position illustrated in Fig. It will be understood that the folds of the upper tend tospr-ead out over the device and thus assist in preventing it 'from slipping upwardly. The device is left on the shoe until the upper has dried and set in lastedshape, after which it is removed and the surplus margin of the upper is trimmed ofi. It will be evident that by use of the device described the gathered margin of the upper is held-securely insuch manner as to maintain the entire toe portion of the upper tightly in lasted position'with that portion of the upper that overlies the ir'iargin of the last wardly toward the edge of the last bottom by reason ofthe resiliency of the felt material. It will'also be evident that the device may be used repeatedly in lasting dilferent shoes llavi'ng described the invention, what I claim-as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the'United States is 1. devicelfor holding the surplus margin. of the: toe portion of an upper gathered in folds in. a substanti ally I central location over the bottom of the toe end of a last, comprising a member formed toextend partially around the gathered margin of the upper, and another member movable relatively to said first member into position to complete the inclosure of said margin. I

2. A device for holding the surplus margin of the toe portion of an upper gathered in folds in a substantially central location over the bottom of the toe end of a last, comprising a member curved to extend partially around the gathered margin of the upper at the end and sides of the toe, and another member arranged to extend laterallyof the shoe at the rear of the gathered margin to 7 complete the inclosure of said margin.

3. A device for holding the surplus margin of the toe portion of an upper gathered in folds over the bottom of the toe end of a last, comprising a substantially U-shaped member formed to extend partially around the gathered margin of the upper, and another member pivoted on. one end of said U-shaped member for movement toward or from the other end thereof. g i

4. A device for holding the surplus margin of the toe portion of an upper gathered in folds in a substantially central location over the bottom of the toe end of a last, comprising a member formed toextend partially around the gathered margin of the upper at the end and sides of the toe, and another member mounted on said first member for movement forwardly toward the end of the toe at the rear of the gathered margin.

5. A device for holding the surplus margin of the toe portion of an upper gathered in folds in a substantially Central location over the bottom of the toe end of a last, comprising a member formed to extend partially around the gathered margin of the upper at the end and sides of the toe, and an arm pivoted on one end of said member for in folds in a substantially central location over the bottom .of the toe end of a last,

comprising a member curved to, extend parti ally around the gathered margin of the upper at the end and sides of the toe, and another member pivoted on one end of said.

curved member for swinging movement for Wardly toward the end o'frthe toe to a positionadjacent to the other end of the curved member, said pivoted member having a projection thereon arranged to engage the folds V of theupper' and press them forwardly.

7. A device for holding the surplusmargin of the toe portion of an upper gathered in a bunch of folds over the bottom of a last, comprising a clasp having difiierent members relatively movable into holding relation to the bunchof folds;

8. A device for holding the surplus margin of the toe portion of an upper gathered 111a bunch of folds over the bottom of a last,

comprising a clasp having parts pivotally connected for relative movement into position to embrace the folds and press them together.

9. A device for holding the surplus margin of the toe portion of an upper gathered in a bunch of folds over the bottom of a last,

ment to a position adjacent to the other end of the memberto complete the inclosure of the bunch of folds, and means on said other end'of the member for retaining the arm in that position.

11. A device for holding the surplus margin of the toe portion of an upper gathered in a bunch of folds over the bottom of a last, comprising a member formed to extend partially around the bunch of folds at the end and sides of the toe and having ashoulder thereon arranged to beengaged by the wipers of a lasting machine to press the member rearwardly against the bunch of folds, and

. another member mounted on said first member formovement into position to extend laterally of the shoe at therear of the folds while the first member is held by the wipers.

12. A device forholding the surplus margin of the toe portion of an upper gathered in a bunch of folds over the bottom of a last, comprising a curved member formedto extend partially around the bunchrof folds at the end and sides of the toe and so constructed as to adapt it to be engaged both by the edges and by the wiping faces of the wipers of a lasting'machine to press the member against theupper, and an arm pivoted on one end of. saidmember for movement into position to complete the inclosure of the bunch of folds while the member is held by the wipers.

13. A device for holding the surplus margin of the'toe portion of an upper gathered .in a bunch of folds over the bottom of a last,

comprising a member formed .of resilient sheet metal and curved to extend partially around the bunch of folds with one of. its lateral surfaces facing the bottom of the last, i and an arm pivoted on one end of said memits ber for'movement' into overlapping relationto'its other endya portion of said other end of the member being bent into, position to serve as: catch for bidding: said arm in 0pemt-ive position.

In testimony whereof 1 have signed my 1131116120 thisrspeci-ficationh HORACE D. WEBB. 

